Related Stories

A loss in the City of Brotherly Loathe wasn’t the anniversary gift Joffrey Lupul had in mind.

But even with the bitter taste in his mouth of a 4-3 setback at the rugged hands of the host Philadelphia Flyers, Lupul did everything in his power to make this a special evening.

Exactly one year after coming over from the Anaheim Ducks along with defenceman Jake Gardiner and a 2013 conditional fourth- round pick in exchange for veteran blue-liner Francois Beachemin, Lupul scored a goal and added an assist at the Wells Fargo Center, a rink he knows well from his brief stint as a Flyer.

As colleague Terry Koshan points out, Lupul’s strong performance on Thursday night gives him 31 goals and 45 assists for 76 points in the 83 games he has played in blue and white. That’s almost a point-per-game pace.

Not bad for a guy who was considered by many to be a throw-in when the original deal with the Ducks was made.

At the time, Lupul was an unknown quantity, having come off an earlier 87-game absence with a blood infection that struck him after he had back surgery. He was also under contract through 2013 with an average cap hit of $4.25 million US.

On the surface, it seemed as if the Leafs, who had cap space at the time of the deal, were willing to take Lupul’s salary off the Ducks hands in order to acquire Gardiner, a former first-round pick whose outstanding skating skills made him a coveted commodity.

Gardiner has been a pleasant surprise for the Leafs, making the team out of training camp and showing composure in his development.

At the same time, no one could have predicted the impact Lupul would have over the next 12 months. Who thought this guy would be in the top 10 in NHL scoring just a year after being traded?

As we’ve said before, if Brian Burke is going to be slagged about the controversial Phil Kessel trade with the Boston Bruins, he needs to be praised for fleecing the Ducks in this deal.

SCHENN VS. SCHENN

The scoresheet will show Maple Leafs defenceman Luke Schenn had more points (2-1) than younger brother Brayden, the rookie forward with the Flyers.

But the summary does not tell the entire story.

It was Brayden, after all, who will have the family bragging rights after scoring the eventual game-winner late in the second period off a fat rebound by James Reimer of a Danny Briere shot.

Brayden played 17 minutes, 40 seconds in the game, just 1:02 less than Luke. Much of that ice time was spent against each other, an interesting sidebar in a game busting with storylines.

In the first period, Brayden came up from behind and stole the puck from Luke in the Leafs zone, setting up Wayne Simmonds for a good scoring opportunity on Reimer. As the game progressed, there were even a couple of jostling incidents in the corner, probably bringing back memories of some playoff brotherly scraps of yesteryear.

In the end, both finished the night plus-one. But the fact that his goal proved to be the margin of victory gave Brayden the edge in this one.

DOUGIE IN DETROIT

With the buzz around the Leafs all day revolving around the announcement that the team will face off against the Detroit Red Wings in front of 115,000 fans at Michigan Stadium on Jan. 1, 2013, former Leaf Doug Gilmour confirmed to the Toronto Sun that he has already been contacted to play in the alumni game at Comerica Field on Dec. 31.

To no one’s surprise, he is jumping at the opportunity.

“Obviously, I’d love to play,” Gilmour said. “Look at how special the alumni game between the former Rangers and Flyers was (last month) in Philly. They sold the place out.”

Gilmour is no stranger to outdoor games, having laced up the blades for the Leafs alumni against the Habs alumni at Hamilton’s Ivor Wynne Stadium last month.

CROSS CHECKS

Felt like the old Broad St. Bullies days for a moment, didn’t it? Scott Hartnell feuding with Dion Phaneuf, then the two drop the gloves after Hartnell scores. Give Hartnell the Gordie Howe hat trick — a goal, an assist and a scrap ... Did we hear it right? Did a TSN announcer actually say Luke Schenn gave a Philly player a “high (s--t)” instead of a “high stick?” People on Twitter certainly thought so. In fact, Twitter blew up after that alleged first-period comment was made ... When Reimer is on, pucks are swallowed up in his equipment. When he’s a bit wobbly, as he was at times on Thursday, he lets out juicy rebounds. He truly can be the lead in a Tale of Two Goalies — both of them being him ... Tim Connolly was shown on replaying “flamingo-ing” on a point shot — in other words, trying to get out of the way. Not quite the “sacrificing the body” mentality we’re sure Ron Wilson is looking for.